UAE coach Wayne Marsters may look to integrate Emirati players into the national team for the Emirates Cup of Nations matches at The Sevens. The national team play Hong Kong on Saturday.
UAE coach Wayne Marsters may look to integrate Emirati players into the national team for the Emirates Cup of Nations matches at The Sevens. The national team play Hong Kong on Saturday.

Marsters' degree of difficulty with UAE rugby



Given that Gulf rugby has historically survived on the goodwill of a few good men, the prospect of playing three Test matches in the space of seven days is an ambitious one.

Imagine the fuss that tier one nations would kick up if they were faced with such a workload at a World Cup.

And most of those top sides have a bottomless pit of players to pick from.

In the final year of the Arabian Gulf, the then chairman of the union calculated that there were approximately 60 players of anywhere near the requisite standard eligible for selection.

That number was then slashed further when the collective union was devolved and split into individual nations at the end of 2010.

If the UAE can field the bare 15, with a couple of players on the replacements' bench to help out, by the time they face Kenya in the last of their three matches in the Emirates Cup of Nations in a week's time, they will have done well.

The UAE can only benefit from having more exposure to international rugby, but this week's four-nation tournament could be as much of a burden as a boon.

"It has been a fine balancing act," said Wayne Marsters, who has been tasked with overseeing the national sevens and XVs sides, as well as his day duties, since taking over as the UAE rugby manager in October. "We will definitely be using a rotation policy this week."

The fact this week's competition follows so swiftly on from the Dubai Rugby Sevens has provided a further logistical challenge.

So far, the national team have had just two sessions with both the backs - who made up the majority of the sevens squad - and the forwards in the same place at the same time.

Marsters faces a tough task melding the two together into one cohesive unit in time for their matches at The Sevens in Dubai against Hong Kong on Saturday, Brazil on Tuesday and Kenya on Friday.

"The game plan will be a very simple one," Marsters said.

"The big lads have been training on their own for seven weeks, and there have been a lot of handshakes, with the forwards introducing themselves to the backs.

"We have got a core of experienced forwards, but having said that we will be giving out a number of first caps this week.

"A lot of new guys will be getting their shot."

 

 

Company Profile

Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8

ANATOMY OF A FALL

Director: Justine Triet

Starring: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner

Rating: 5/5

‘White Elephant’

Director: Jesse V Johnson
Stars: Michael Rooker, Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Olga Kurylenko
Rating: 3/5

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal

Rating: 2/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid

When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid

The specs

Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)

THE BIO

Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.

Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

Confirmed bouts (more to be added)

Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez

Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.

SPECS

Engine: 2-litre direct injection turbo
Transmission: 7-speed automatic
Power: 261hp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: From Dh134,999

Generation Start-up: Awok company profile

Started: 2013

Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

Sector: e-commerce

Size: 600 plus

Stage: still in talks with VCs

Principal Investors: self-financed by founder

The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
​​​​​​​Princeton


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